


Relief

by MissCordayLewis



Category: E.R.
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-03
Updated: 2012-06-03
Packaged: 2017-11-06 18:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/421789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCordayLewis/pseuds/MissCordayLewis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happened after that Orbital performance in The Shadow Room?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Relief

It's been years since Abby last been in a place like this. Mandatory requirement for the program was to stay away from anything that reminded her of times where she lost control, especially places where alcohol was served in droves. But here she was in a sea of neon and black light, chatting with Susan about venture capitalists and failed dates. Three _w_ aitresses offered her glow-in-the-dark cups that night. She declined the offer each time. _See? I can control myself. I'm fine._

In front of her, Susan chugged on drink after drink after drink, her speech becoming more slurred and stilted until one time, she fumbled on her way out with Abby on her side, Jing-Mei going ahead with a strange guy on her arm. They, or at least Susan giggled and hiccuped on the curbside waiting for a cab. Abby smelled the sweet combination of cocktails and club soda on Susan's breath. Susan's eyes roamed from one side to another before stopping at Abby's chocolate browns. “Abby...I wanna tell you something.”

“What?”

And that's when Susan covered her mouth with her hand and spewed the contents of her stomach on Abby's shoes. Abby flinched on her spot, the acidic smell went on through her nose. She rubbed Susan's back as she puffed her cheeks while on all fours on the concrete.“Whoa...you had a bit much to drink there.”

The street spun around Susan the minute she got up. She stumbled during a missed step and would have hit her head on the concrete if it weren't for Abby catching her in a split-second. Abby then crouched down and lifted Susan all the way her car. “All right, Susan, I'll get you home.”

Susan dozed off on the way back. Her snores became Abby's background music as she drove the path to Susan's apartment. The car came to a screeching halt when she reached the place. Abby then dug under Susan's purse. _Perfume, cellphone, tissues...keys!_

She opened the car door and rushed up the stairs, inserting one key after another before she heard a faint click and a swinging sound. She ran down and stuffed the keyring on the purse before she gently lifted Susan out of her seat. “I got you.”

Susan groaned and squirmed on Abby's arms as the smaller woman felt her arms numbing from Susan's weight.Her arms eventually gave up and Abby settled her on Susan's plush sofa. She took some tissues from her purse and wiped the traces of vomit on Susan's face and clothes.

Abby watched the blonde as she snoozed everything away, smelling the sweet taste of alcohol and cocktails on her breath. Abby missed all those times where all she did is drink the night away. _No, I can't have thoughts about alcohol, I can't._

She got up the coffee table and was about to walk out when Susan stirred on her stupor and tugged Abby's shirt. “Abby..”, Susan slurred, her eyes remained closed. “Stay...”

“Susan, I have a 9am shift tomorrow.”, Abby said.

Susan's grasp on her tightened. Abby sighed andnavigated to her bedroom and took a folded blanket and two pillows before going back to Susan. She then unfolded the blanket she's holding and wrapped it around the blonde, tucking it at the edges before she lifted her head and placed the pillows below it.

Abby shoved all nagging thoughts about alcohol, Carter, and work deep down before heading for Susan's Barcalounger. _No wonder her dad didn't want to get up here. This thing is ridiculously comfy._ She then pulled the reclining handle and after a few minutes, dozed off to sleep.

A few hours later, Susan groaned as she attempted to rise from her place when a squeezing pressure mounted on her skull. “Morning, Susan.”, Abby said, setting down a glass of water and two caplets.

“Ugh, my head.”, Susan said as she massaged her temples. “I don't remember having a hangover this bad since I left Phoenix.”

Abby stood up from her place and guided Susan on her way up. “Do you have anything to get this nasty headache off of me?”, Susan said.

“I grabbed you some Alka-Seltzer. Maybe that would help ease the headache a little bit.”

Susan took one caplet and plopped it in the glass of water, causing it it disintegrate and fizz. “I really don't know how you deal with these things. You seemed to have handled yourself pretty well out there.”, Susan said before she sipped on the Alka-Seltzer solution.

_Second nature would be an understatement._

Somehow, she never hesitated doing anything in Susan's apartment, and neither did she seem to mind.She had grabbed leftovers from her fridge without her permission one hot summer night when her apartment's been fumigated, had borrowed her blankets, and yes, even propping her feet up on the now barren surface. She leaned to grab a magazine when she glanced at the wall clock in front of her.“Wait, my shift starts in an hour. Are you fine being here alone? Or do you want me to stay?”

 “I think I can handle myself just fine.”, she said as she wobbled to the bathroom. Retching sounds echoed from the other side moments later. Susan heaved until nothing else came out before getting up and limped to the sink. She then took a good look of herself on the mirror. Color vanished from her face, a pale green tint taking its place. Susan puffed her cheeks and gripped the sink until her knuckles went white.

Abby knocked on the bathroom door. “You okay in there?”

A click on the door knob, and Susan emerged  – her cheeks now with a slight hint of pink, her eyes a brighter green. Her head throbbed on all sides, forcing her to squeeze her eyes on every step. Abby leaned on the wall next to the door frame. “Are you sure you don't need anything?”

 “No, I'll be fine.”, Susan said, waving her arms around to get a feel of the area. “Just need to lie down for a while before my shift starts.”

Abby grabbed her handbag from Susan's Barcalounger and approached the front porch. “All right, suit yourself. Just give me a call if you need anything..”

 __Visions of last night's events clouded her windshield view – from the neon lights, to Jing-Mei's stage dive, to the shoes she needed to clean. The screech of an incoming car zapped her back to the real world, almost hitting the sidewalk as she avoided the collision. Her heart pounded out of her chest upon returning to her normal speed, thoughts snowballing right onto her.She arrived at County to the sight of triage area empty, with all the staff lounging at the admit desk as they checked the clock for the next patient to arrive. “And to think I was preparing myself for some bum with a banana bag to shake a bottle at me.”

Carter trailed Abby behind as she approached the admit desk. Abby covered her ears on the inside, filtering out the incessant barrage of questions Carter did on his search for the answer to the question, “Gang go out again last night?”

He couldn't even understand what the rule “First rule of Girls Club is: You don't talk about Girls' Club.” meant. Obviously he hasn't watched Fight Club, so she gave him a fake answer just to keep him quiet. “The usual: prank calls, pillow fights, lesbian experimentation...”

At the same time, Susan headed to the El station, her eyes still drooping to a cat-like slit. Lucky for her, the incoming train was devoid of passengers, allowing her to take a seat on the coach. She reached her destination after an uneventful journey, gripping the railings as she got up and made way for the jungle below. She bowed her head and dug her hands on her coat when Elizabeth met her from the direction of Doc Magoo's. “Late night?”

The smoky scent of Elizabeth's coffee and burger sent Susan's stomach into somersaults. She tried to stifle the urge to gag, but failed miserably. “You know any good hangover remedies around?”

“When I was at school, we ate dried eel and bitter almonds.”

Susan's stomach wasn't ready for visions of dried sea creatures and shriveled nuts. “Oh, I think I'll live with the headache.”

Amidst offers of Asian root teas and more alcohol, Susan dragged her feet to Abby sitting near the board. "Yeah, it feels like a _pack of dogs_ , and they all had a _Mexican tag_.", she said before facing Abby. “Thank you for bringing me home. I'm sorry about your shoes.”

Carter observed Abby and Susan in front of him through the clear, unclogged surface of the ER board, not happy that they were talking about vomit on shoes. Abby had an uncertain look on her eyes.“Oh, it's okay. Nothing soap, water and Lysol can't fix.”

 _Of course I should know. I've been cleaning my mess for the past twenty years._ Susan opened her mouth to speak when Randi cut through their conversation, signaling the start of Kerry's news segment. Everything went sour the moment Kerry forgot to change needles, and it's not just her who had problems. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing. Exam one?”, Carter said before leaving her and Susan alone. Susan segued to another topic after he left, attempting to divert the conversation. But Abby could sense where this was headed. “Well, I'm only going to say this once. I hate a surprise party.”

“Carter assumed I was in the loop.”, Susan said. Abby leaned forward and lowered her voice.“What loop?”

“The drinking loop?”

Stopping dead on her tracks, Abby blinked at Susan twice, her mind blanking out upon the revelation that Susan never knew about her problem. She averted her eye contact away from Susan. _Oh no, oh no. Why now? Why did Carter bring her into this now?_ This wasn't the way she wanted things to proceed. All she wanted was to have a good time, and she did. **_They_** did.

She didn't intend for her to be dragged into her problems. While Susan kept affirming that it wasn't any of her business, and that it's a problem between her and Carter,  Abby couldn't help but feel guilty for cheating her out of something she should have said outright. Yet she fought on, treated things as if nothing happened. Abby hardly brought up her drinking problem to anyone, and especially not to people she wasn't ready to talk to about it

Didn't help that Carter started to get on her nerves. At first, she thought it was sweet, that someone was looking out for her, concerned for her well-being. But while Luka seemed to ignore her issues when they were together, Carter pinpointed them one by one. She suffocated in his presence to the point that she struggled to breathe. No, she couldn't tell that to his face. Abby knew him well enough that if she did, the scene won't be pretty.

Susan wasn't like that. Far from it, actually. She recognized that yes, she's far from perfect, yet never did she try to change her. She never considered her as broken, or at least knew how to approach her without doing her head off. “We're friends, Abby. If you wanna talk, you know where I am. If not, that's okay too.”

Unlike someone else she knew, she understood.


End file.
